VHF’s Evening Lectures offer illustrated talks that look at the history of Vancouver, covering the events, movements and people that shaped our city. The talks are co-hosted by Vancouver Heritage Foundation and the Hycroft Heritage Preservation Foundation.
FALL 2019 LECTURES
Select Tuesdays, 7:30pm – 9pm
University Women’s Club of Vancouver at Hycroft, 1489 McRae Avenue
$16/$10 (with a valid student ID)
Register here for all lectures
October 1st – “Just what is it that makes the modern house so different, so appealing?”
In August of 1950, the inaugural issue of Western Homes and Living was published. In it publisher Howard Mitchell wrote, “Here is the long-awaited quality magazine of the home, the first fully illustrated, smooth paper, consumer magazine in British Columbia.” The magazine fashioned itself after the American Sunset Magazine, featuring illustrated stories on houses and articles on ‘West Coast living’. Articles that profiled the owners and architects were common, along with many that featured homes designed by architects for their families. Visually arresting photographs by artists such as Graham Warrington, Selwyn Pullan and, later John Fulker, were among the best produced anywhere during that time. This combination made the idea of modern living accessible to a growing middle-class. Join Author and Curator Greg Bellerby to explore the magazine between 1950 and 1966 when it was a champion of modern residential architecture and instrumental in establishing West Coast regional style. You’ll learn how the articles praised the virtues of modern design and how it enhanced family life and contemporary living as the magazine attempted to answer what makes a Modern house so appealing.
Thank you to event partner Western Homes & Living magazine
October 29th – The History and Legacy of the Vancouver Park Board
As the Bloedel Conservatory marks its 50th anniversary, join Park Board Commissioner, John Coupar, and retired Park Board Public Affairs Manager, Terri Clark, to explore the history and legacy of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. First established in 1888 and enabled by the Vancouver Charter, the Vancouver Park Board is the only elected body of its type in Canada, setting it up for constant friction, at one time or another, with all other elected groups. That single fact has made all the difference in our character as a city. Learn about some of the long-term park plans over the years, successful and otherwise, that have sought to increase green space citywide in the face of rapid development, and the efforts of devoted Park Board employees whose work resulted in some of the globe’s most horticulturally divine green spaces and recreational pleasure grounds. The speakers will also highlight the story of the Bloedel Conservatory through five decades at the highest point of the city, including how the stage was set for its conception and development in one of Vancouver’s most beautiful open spaces, Queen Elizabeth Park.
